In a draft year that saw an abundance of future stars like Jaromir Jagr, Martin Brodeur, Owen Nolan, Keith Tkachuk, and Peter Bondra, Geoff Sanderson found himself in a select group as the Hartford Whalers second choice, 36th overall, in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.

After spending his junior career with the WHL's Swift Current Broncos, where he led the team in several offensive categories, he was off to Hartford to pursue his dream of playing in the NHL. In only his second full season with the team, Sanderson flourished with 89 points in 82 games and played for Team Canada in the World Championships. The next year saw him have another great season for the Whalers, capped off with a World Championship victory for Canada.

Sanderson kept up his steady play with the Whalers, while capturing another World Championship crown in 1997. The Whalers moved to Carolina for the 1997-98 season where they became the Hurricanes, a fitting name for the season that Sanderson and his family would have. After settling in with the new team, he was traded to the Canucks for a brief nine -game stint and then on to the Sabres who were gearing up for the playoffs. After a great run in the 1998-99 season, the Sabres came close to winning the Stanley Cup, only to fall to the Dallas Stars in the sixth game of the finals.

As the NHL expanded, Sanderson found himself with a new team, the inaugural Columbus Blue Jackets, for the 2000-01 season. He hit his stride once again and led the team in goals, points, and power-play goals and is one of the leaders on the young team. After an injury plagued season in 2001-02, Sanderson responded the following year with 34 goals and 67 points, his highest point total since his 1996-97 season with the Whalers.

Sanderson went on to play the better part of four seasons with the Blue Jackets before rejoining the Vancouver Canucks at the 2004 trade deadline. Acquired by the Canucks to provide some more offense, Sanderson went on to register seven points (3-4-7) in 13 games with the club before claimed off waivers by Columbus in the summer of 2004.

Following a lock out year in 2004-05, Sanderson was acquired by the Phoenix Coyotes in the early stages of the 2005-06 season. After recording 25 goals in 75 games with the Coyotes, Sanderson signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Flyers in the summer of 2006.

As a Flyer Sanderson had 11 goals and 18 assists in 58 games before being dealt to the Edmonton Oilers in the summer of 2007.

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

1987-88

St. Albert Royals

AMHL

45

65

55

120

175

1988-89

Swift Current Broncos

WHL

58

17

11

28

16

12

3

5

8

6

1988-89

Swift Current Broncos

M-Cup

2

0

0

0

0

1989-90

Swift Current Broncos

WHL

70

32

62

94

56

4

1

4

5

8

1990-91

Swift Current Broncos

WHL

70

62

50

112

57

3

1

2

3

4

1990-91

Hartford Whalers

NHL

2

1

0

1

0

-2

3

0

0

0

0

1990-91

Springfield Indians

AHL

1

0

0

0

2

1991-92

Hartford Whalers

NHL

64

13

18

31

18

+5

7

1

0

1

2

1992-93

Hartford Whalers

NHL

82

46

43

89

28

-21

1992-93

Canada

WC-A

8

3

3

6

2

1993-94

Hartford Whalers

NHL

82

41

26

67

42

-13

1993-94

Canada

WC-A

8

4

2

6

8

1994-95

HPK Hameenlinna

Finland

12

6

4

10

24

1994-95

Hartford Whalers

NHL

46

18

14

32

24

-10

1995-96

Hartford Whalers

NHL

81

34

31

65

40

0

1996-97

Hartford Whalers

NHL

82

36

31

67

29

-9

1996-97

Canada

WC-A

11

3

2

5

2

1997-98

Carolina Hurricanes

NHL

40

7

10

17

14

-4

1997-98

Vancouver Canucks

NHL

9

0

3

3

4

-1

1997-98

Buffalo Sabres

NHL

26

4

5

9

20

+6

14

3

1

4

4

1998-99

Buffalo Sabres

NHL

75

12

18

30

22

+8

19

4

6

10

14

1999-00

Buffalo Sabres

NHL

67

13

13

26

22

+4

5

0

2

2

8

2000-01

Columbus Blue Jackets

NHL

68

30

26

56

46

+4

2001-02

Columbus Blue Jackets

NHL

42

11

5

16

12

-15

2002-03

Columbus Blue Jackets

NHL

82

34

33

67

34

-4

2003-04

Columbus Blue Jackets

NHL

67

13

16

29

34

-9

2003-04

Vancouver Canucks

NHL

13

3

4

7

4

-1

7

1

1

2

4

2004-05

HC Geneve-Servette

Swiss

9

4

1

5

29

2005-06

Columbus Blue Jackets

NHL

2

0

0

0

0

-1

2005-06

Phoenix Coyotes

NHL

75

25

21

46

58

-14

2006-07

Philadelphia Flyers

NHL

58

11

18

29

44

-16

2007-08

Edmonton Oilers

NHL

41

3

10

13

16

-7

NHL Totals

1104

355

345

700

511

55

9

10

19

32

Played in NHL All-Star Game (1994, 1997)

Transferred to Carolina after Hartford franchise relocated, June 25, 1997. Traded to Vancouver by Carolina with Sean Burke and Enrico Ciccone for Kirk McLean and Martin Gelinas, January 3, 1998. Traded to Buffalo by Vancouver for Brad May and Buffalo's 3rd round pick (later traded to Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay selected Jimmie Olvestad) in 1999 NHL Draft, February 4, 1998. Claimed by Columbus from Buffalo in Expansion Draft, June 23, 2000. Traded to Vancouver by Columbus for Vancouver's 3rd round pick (Daniel Lacosta) in 2004 NHL Draft, March 9, 2004. Claimed on waivers by Columbus from Vancouver, June 28, 2004. Signed as a free agent by Geneve (Swiss), January 5, 2005. Traded to Phoenix by Columbus with Tim Jackman for Cale Hulse, Mike Rupp and Jason Chimera, October 8, 2005. Signed as a free agent by Philadelphia, July 19, 2006. Traded to Edmonton by Philadelphia with Joni Pitkanen and Philadelphia's 3rd round pick (Cameron Abney) in 2009 NHL Draft for Joffrey Lupul and Jason Smith, July 1, 2007.